Stifel Financial Corp Sells 17,040 Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

Stifel Financial Corp cut its stake in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 372,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,040 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Hercules Capital were worth $7,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 10.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,115,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,873,000 after purchasing an additional 290,579 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,737,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,761,000 after purchasing an additional 47,672 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 17.0% in the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 433,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,505,000 after purchasing an additional 62,826 shares during the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 9.9% in the third quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 408,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,020,000 after purchasing an additional 36,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 1,861.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 407,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,960,000 after purchasing an additional 386,367 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:HTGC opened at $19.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 1.36. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.68 and a fifty-two week high of $21.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.65.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.88% and a net margin of 65.07%. The company had revenue of $125.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.89%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is 79.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on HTGC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hercules Capital news, CEO Scott Bluestein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total value of $1,959,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,161,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,338,045.13. This represents a 4.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

Hercules Capital, Inc is a business development company. The firm specializing in providing venture debt, debt, senior secured loans, and growth capital to privately held venture capital-backed companies at all stages of development from startups to expansion stage including select publicly listed companies and select special opportunity lower middle market companies that require additional capital to fund acquisitions, recapitalizations and refinancing and established-stage companies.